A full frontal "complete team win" is all the No. 14 Auburn women's tennis team needed to defeat No. 51 Alabama for the first time since 2008, according to Auburn coach Lauren Spencer.
The Tigers (19-4, 7-2 SEC) notched a 4-3 victory over the Crimson Tide (4-13, 0-9 SEC) at the Yarbrough Tennis Center in Auburn Friday afternoon.
In doubles play, Alannah Griffin and Andie Dikosavljevic were the sole winners in doubles for Auburn, defeating Bennett Dunn and Aryn Green 6-2. Pleun Burgmans and Alizee Michaud fell 6-3 and Paula de Man and Caroline Turner dropped their match against Andie Daniell and Joanna Savva 7-6.
"I have to give a lot of credit to Alabama, they came out and fought until the end tonight," said Spencer. "I am especially proud of our freshman. For them to come out and perform as well as they did is huge for our team."
Burgmans kicked off singles with a victory over Natalia Maynetto 6-1, 6-0 for the 185th win of her career. Dikosavljevic got her second straight SEC win, defeating Daniell 6-4, 6-4.
Freshmen Griffin and Caroline Turner sealed the deal for Auburn, with Griffin improving to 6-0 in SEC play after a 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 victory and Turner clinched the match for the Tigers with a 6-2, 0-6, 7-5 win over Bennett Dunn. Griffin is the first freshman to begin her career 6-0 in the SEC since Burgmans in 2013.
"I want to thank all the fans that came out and supported us tonight in this tremendous program victory," said Spencer.
The Tigers will continue play next weekend with their final home stand of the season, facing No. 8 South Carolina on Friday for senior day and No. 6 Florida on Sunday at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
